Tokyo Police Club have been the recipients of a hell of a lot of hype from the blog community on the back of their excellent A Lesson In Crime EP in 2006.

The result of that hype is the kind of pressure on the young Canadian band that can be anything between daunting and crippling but nigh on impossible to live up to either way. Removed from all that hype and approached fresh, their debut Elephant Shell is a great record and showcases Tokyo Police Club’s remarkable knack for writing short sharp blasts of hook-laden, spiky indie-pop.

‘Juno’, ‘Tessellate’, ‘Centennial’ and ‘Your English Is Good’ are flawless examples of the genre that are over just early enough to leave both an impression and a yearning for more. Clearly disciples of the age-old adage ‘leave ‘em wanting more’, the band have enough faith in their talent to refrain from overcooking any of the 11 songs.

Mark Grassick